That is not a nice thing to say at all on Teppenpaw Commons

Anon

August 09, 2015 8:46 AM

Surprise by Anon

The holidays had been very dull. For years, he’d never really noticed. The elves came and went, same as ever, muttering their little worries under their breath to amuse him. They had always seemed so funny. But now… Now he’d discovered something so much richer. The students were like a tantalising buffet of all the finest delicacies and richest flavours. Two weeks left alone with nothing but the elves was like two weeks on bread on water. But today, it was the day of the feast.

The students settled to their meal, a stern warning from the Head falling on innocent ears. And whilst they tried to shake it off - to eat, drink and be merry, whilst everyone was busily looking the other way, there was work to be done.

Nothing too big to start off. That was the fun of the feast - to have a little of this, a little of that. And these… These seemed to be somewhat universal problems. Perhaps he could stir up some more feelings along similar lines, beyond the ones he knew about. The cork boards were blank in most of the Common Rooms, or at least had been before dinner, with the notices from the first half of term removed, ready for a fresh start. He smiled, looking at them - clean, pristine, just waiting for the first announcements. And he had plenty.

On the Teppenpaw board, was a piece of gossip that would surely be regarded as truly salacious in the home of caring and sharing - indeed, it had been very difficult to find anyone in this group who really kept secrets, rather than just talking it all through and ending in a big group hug. He didn’t much care for the Teppenpaws…. And, apparently, one of them didn’t care for another, for on the board was scratched ‘You’re not my friend.’

Subthreads:

Do you have the correct House? by Aiden O'Neil with Tobi Reinhardt

That is not a nice thing to say at all by Ginger Pierce with Jemima

Conflicted by Owen Brockert

0 Anon Surprise 0 Anon 1 5

Aiden O'Neil

August 10, 2015 9:36 PM

Do you have the correct House? by Aiden O'Neil

Aiden’s midterm had been a little boring. He had the usual O’Neil family Christmas dinner to go to and the Mathers’ New Year’s party to attend, but those were so usual that Aiden couldn’t bother to become excited for them. He loved both sides of his family and considering he was the only male Mathers, he was important so he received a lot of attention, but sometimes he just wanted a change of scenery. Sometimes his Aunt Tally would come to visit him and she always brought the best gifts, but she was working this holiday and hadn’t been able to see him. It was a total bummer.

He always heard about his classmates going to each other’s parties and Aiden wondered when it would be okay for him to finally join in on those ones. If he was able to hang out with his friends or classmates and with people his own age, Aiden probably wouldn’t be as bored during the midterm or the summer as he currently was. Plus, Aiden wanted to see some non-relatives ladies looking all dressed up and pretty…

Aiden sat at the table and tried not to think about girls in pretty dresses because that wouldn’t really help him any. There were so many pretty girls at Sonora that it just wasn’t fair at all. Aiden knew that being overweight (although he had definitely thinned out since the start of term!) and having bad teeth (just two more years and he can get his teeth fixed like his parents promised!) didn’t make him popular with the females but there was little that he could do about it for the time being. Someday, maybe they’d notice him the way he noticed them.

After a deliciously satisfying meal and small talk with those around him, Aiden headed back to the common room to unpack. He happened to notice, by chance, something on the board shortly after entering the common room (panting slightly from having to do the jig). At first, he hadn’t been quite sure what it was that he was looking at, but at closer inspection, he realized that someone had scratched a note onto the board.

Aiden read the notice on the board and his face contorted into one of confusion. There was no names attached to the written notice, so there was no way of knowing who it was referring to or who it was meant for. Aiden wondered if it was written in the wrong common room board. This was Teppenpaw after all. Aiden didn’t understand who would write something like this on their board. Was it a joke? Was it meant to be mean? If so, why wouldn’t they put a name to it? Aiden didn’t think anyone had any sort of negative feeling toward him, but maybe he was wrong about that? He wasn’t going to start wondering though because that would only make him suspicious of people and then he wouldn’t be able to have any friends at all.

“Are they just trying to make everyone suspicious?” Aiden asked. “I mean, not putting names makes it seem like they are trying to get to everyone. But that’s dumb. This is Teppenpaw. Friendly is in our description.” Aiden stated, looking a little amused.

6 Aiden O'Neil Do you have the correct House? 287 Aiden O'Neil 0 5

Tobi Reinhardt

August 11, 2015 9:30 PM

I don't think they do... by Tobi Reinhardt

Strangely enough, the hostile act that Arne had been carrying on while at school had disappeared a few days into being at home. Occasionally his temper had flared up, but for the most part Tobi’s little brother was displaying a change in attitude. Tobi couldn’t say for sure what it was, but he had his suspicions. One way or another Tobi didn’t really care about the specifics, so long as Arne respected him and their family he was good. However, Tobi quickly added “and others around him” to the list of people he thought Arne ought to respect as he happened to glance over at his little brother just in time to see the usually mild mannered Laila slapping him and then running off. Tobi closed his eyes and shook his head. When was Arne going to learn to just keep his mouth shut?

The rest of dinner went by without much upset and Tobi was able to chide Arne slightly as he passed him on the way up to the Teppenpaw commons which resulted in Arne sticking out his tongue rather immaturely which resulted in Tobi laughing. It was nice to be back to the kindergarten antics that had made up most of their childhood. He was tired of the snide remarks and the guarded looks that Arne sent him when he thought Tobi wasn’t paying any attention. As he arrived in the Teppenpaw Common Room, having somehow gotten separated from Liac in the mass of people, he saw his other roommate standing at the notice board.

Curious, Tobi walked up to see what he was looking at. His first thought was that Aiden was the one vandalizing the school seeing as he seemed to be the first person in the Teppenpaw Commons and was standing in front of the board. However, the thought no sooner as entered in his head as he felt ashamed for having thought of it. There was no way Aiden had been the one to divulge all the secrets even if his first initial started with an ‘A’ which had implicated him along with all the other ‘A’s and ‘G’s of the school. Aiden was too…nice, and it was wrong of Tobi to assume it was him simply because of his name and the coincidence which found the generally cheerful boy in front of the newest piece of vandalism.

“It is strange,” he remarked, tilting his head slightly. The idea that someone in Teppenpaw had been the one to have spread all the vicious rumors around the school was appalling, yet Tobi couldn’t think of anyone else who knew the entrance to their common room. But…it couldn’t be. As Aiden said, friendly was in their description. He couldn’t think of a single Teppenpaw he didn’t like nor a single Teppenpaw who didn’t like someone else in the house. It just didn’t make any sense. He frowned again. You’re not my friend. It sounded to him as though someone in the house were pretending to be someone else’s friend.

“It’s probably somebody’s idea of a sick joke,” he said now once he was done observing the scratched surface. “I don’t know why they think this is funny but it’s not…” He trailed off as if in thought. But then again, he didn’t think anyone in their house could be capable of thinking up such a cruel joke. “I don’t know,” he said again. “Just thinking about this is giving me a headache.”

10 Tobi Reinhardt I don't think they do... 289 Tobi Reinhardt 0 5

Ginger Pierce

August 12, 2015 8:00 PM

That is not a nice thing to say at all by Ginger Pierce

Ginger headed through the Common Room, quite cheerful after the feast and seeing her friends again after midterm break. She'd sent cards to everyone, of course, and regular updates on what she was doing to her closest friends, most especially Jemima, Lauren, and, well, Jake.

She glanced over the empty corkboard, almost not noticing the scratched letters pressed into it, but a deeper grove caught her eye as she walked past and she stopped to figure out what had looked weird. The words took her aback, stealing her breath. She had no idea who wrote it, or who it was aimed toward, but tears stung her eyes anyway. You're not my friend? That was a terrible thing to see or hear no matter who you were, and Ginger felt personally hurt, partly out of fear that it did mean her (though she had no reason at all to think it did), and partly just out of general empathy.

The worst thing about it all was that this was written in Teppenpaw, which was supposed to be their safe haven among friends.

Almost without thinking about it, and certainly without considering the consequences of the fact that she was defacing school property like everyone in the school had been repeatedly warned against this year, she took out an un-inked quill and scratched in more words beneath the existing ones, in a very different handwriting to the hurtful message that appeared above:

You are my friend, though. Ignore the mean old sour grape.

It didn't matter who read it, it was still true. Ginger liked everybody, and she felt it worth the effort to tell them so, especially in the wake of someone else being so mean. Only after she put away her quill did she realize that she might have done something bad. Backing away, and hoping nobody had seen her writing on the board, but not quite brave enough to look around to see if she was right, Ginger fled quickly to her room.

Assailed by guilt, as soon as she saw one of her roommates, she blurted out, white faced and horrified, "I defaced school property! I'm getting expelled!"

1 Ginger Pierce That is not a nice thing to say at all 302 Ginger Pierce 0 5

Jemima

August 13, 2015 10:07 AM

Or to think about by Jemima

Jemima had had a good holiday. She had been very restrained and not snuck off to peer around the hinges of the drawing room door but she suspected that hers and Diana's scheming had paid off. However, if shoving their older siblings into a mistletoe covered room had failed to lead to any sort of kissing, then she thought they might actually be beyond helping, and perhaps did just want to be friends and talk about very dull grown up stuff all day long. The rest of the holidays had been fun too – Christmas was such a nice time of caring and sharing.

She returned to school in good spirits, and enjoyed the feast before heading up to Teppenpaw. As with the rest of her housemates, her attention was caught by the unfriendly announcement on the notice board. She hurried up to the dorm room, but the awful message wouldn't stop bothering her. It seemed so unlike Teppenpaw, and she hated the way her mind was racing to think whether anyone might have said it about her. She didn't want to be guilty and edgy and suspicious of the people around her. She normally trusted everyone, and she couldn't think of a reason why anyone would say it about her when she tried her best to be kind and friendly to everyone.

She bit her lip as a name came to the surface of her mind. Andrew Carey. She had always been friendly to him, of course, but she wouldn't say they were friends. And she was friends with Ginger and Lauren and Owen. With every other Teppenpaw in their year. So how could she honestly say that she had tried her best with everyone if one person had ended up thoroughly left out? She really had been meaning to talk to Andrew more, in fact it had been her early New Year Resolution, after she had had to choose between him and Diana as her co-conspirator and had chosen Diana. But maybe he'd seen the two of them tête-à-tête, or had heard something from his sister about it, and was feeling hurt.

She didn't for a second think that Andrew had written the nasty message because she didn't think he'd do a thing like that (though really, she scolded herself, besides him being in Teppenpaw, how would she know what he'd do?). But someone had been writing other people's secrets around the school and maybe Andrew's was that she'd really hurt his feelings. She was just resolving to go and find him to try to straighten things out, when Ginger burst in looking quite frantic. Under the circumstances, that was quite understandable, but Jemima was truly unprepared for what came next.

“You wrote that?” she asked, aghast, “But Ginger, why? And who did you mean?” she asked anxiously. A worried thought crossed her mind, about how hers and Ginger's Christmases had pushed them down separate paths, how Ginger wasn't invited to most of the parties she went to, or the ones her family threw. “You are my friend, you know that right?” she asked.

13 Jemima Or to think about 304 Jemima 0 5

Ginger

August 13, 2015 11:49 AM

Exactly! by Ginger

Ginger realized belatedly that Jemima must think she wrote the *first* message - her roommate had already been up here and couldn't have possibly seen what Ginger wrote yet - and she burst into tears and hugged Jemima and cried, "I didn't write that horrible thing! Of course we're friends!"

Pulling away again, too agitated to stay in one place for very long, Ginger paced erratically around the room, face still wet with tears, but almost too upset to truly cry, she gestured wildly as she explained, "It was just so mean! How could anybody say that? And here?! I had to write that I'd be their friend and they shouldn't pay any attention to that big mean bully!" She swung around to face Jemima again, her blue eyes pleading for understanding, "I didn't mean to damage the board! It just happened! I wasn't thinking straight! And now I'm going to get expelled!" Headmaster Brockert had just warned them tonight that this offense would be severely punished, after all.

She turned again, moving because staying still was just impossible right now, and running her hands through her hair, "I don't want to be expelled! I like rooming with you and Lauren! I have friends here! Even Quidditch isn't too bad anymore. And there's Jake here!"

She froze briefly. Had she just said that? Yes, she had just said that. She threw herself backwards onto her bed, staring at the ceiling, and sighed heavily and miserably. "And today started so well. Mom is going to be so disappointed."

1 Ginger Exactly! 302 Ginger 0 5

Aiden

August 14, 2015 4:45 PM

Yeah, I think they got turned around. by Aiden

It never occurred to Aiden that people might suspect Aiden to be the perpetrator of the vandalism behind the school. If he had known that he might have been, disbelief and hurt would have filled him because Aiden was the last person who would ever purposely try to hurt the people around him. It was understandable in this moment why someone might have considered blaming him as he stood in front of the evidence and seemed to be the first person to notice it that evening, but Aiden wouldn’t think logically about it in that way. No, if he knew someone would have suspected him, he would feel like everything about him would be in question and his friends would think poorly of him and everything would be ruined!

So, it was really a good thing that it never occurred to Aiden that anyone would believe that he was the vandal of the school.

Aiden was glad that his friend felt the same way that he did about the matter. As far as Aiden could recall, he had never felt a moment of hostility towards any of his housemates or felt it between other people. This house was always a safe place and sometimes even their Head of House hung out with them , making it even more of a safe zone. He didn’t understand why someone would now claim that they were not friends with another person. Furthermore, why would they not directly just say it to them in an understanding manner instead of posting it all over the common room (okay, so it was just a small area of the notice board) for everyone to see?

That was just rude and uncalled for.

What a terrible joke that would be on another person. Making someone feel like their friend really wasn’t their friend at all. What was the purpose or point of that? Why would someone go out of their way to hurt another person? Aiden wasn’t even sure if he could think of someone outside of Teppenpaw that would be that mean. Well… maybe he could, but even so! And to do it on their first night back to school. It was shameful.

Aiden wasn’t sure why discussing the message would give Tobi a headache. He was a quiet guy, so maybe just the thought of people getting upset over it was already wearing him out? “Oh, I’m sorry. I don’t have to talk about it with you anymore, if you don’t want to.” Aiden commented. “I just saw it when I was catching my breath and couldn’t believe that someone had done it in Teppenpaw. But I can stop now, if that’s what you like.”

6 Aiden Yeah, I think they got turned around. 287 Aiden 0 5

Owen Brockert

August 22, 2015 6:24 PM

Conflicted by Owen Brockert

Owen gazed at the Teppenpaw cork board. He wasn't in any club or anything, but he felt it was necessary to check just in case one of the staff put out a notice. If he missed something important, he could end up going to class that had been cancelled or the wrong place if it had been moved-both of which would lead to tardiness or even potentially missing class and getting in trouble and unnecessary walking, as while Owen didn't like thinking about his asthma, he didn't want to aggravate it either because nothing made him think about it as much as having issues related to it-or not having something he needed.

Besides, it was hard enough to concentrate on other things sometimes when his head was full of stories. Cookies and Cream were making a lot of progress though Lord Cockroach was a difficult foe. Cockroaches were creatures that could withstand an awful lot, especially super powerful evil ones. He probably wouldn't have Lord Cockroach utterly defeated any time soon, because his story needed to have a nemesis and after this first story, Lord Cockroach was going to develop a real grudge against his heroes . Owen had several ideas for new characters too. Like Cream's Aunt Freezy and Cookies' Uncle Waddles who'd be recurring. Then there was Chubbyfly, the fat butterfly that Jemima had drawn in COMC and a wise old mole who gave the other animals guidance called Ol' Mole. Then there was Bluebelle, the cow. She was blue and white instead of black and white and ran an ice cream shop, which had become infested with Lord Cockroach's minions-which were smaller cockroaches.

As Owen noticed what was on the board, his heart sank and a sick feeling grew in his stomach. How could someone do something like that, pretending to be someone's friend? It was the cruelest thing he'd ever heard of, something he'd never even write about happening. When Owen wrote about villainous deeds, they were of the...fantasy sort, things people-and for the most part, cockroaches- didn't or couldn't do in real life. This was mean and he didn't like it. He really just wanted people to get along and be happy.

And what if it was meant for him ? What if it was Jemima talking about him? Owen would be truly devastated. Still, she'd never given him any indication that they weren't really friends. Maybe Andrew didn't like him after all? That would be upsetting too. He already felt guilty that he probably interfered with his roommate's ability to sleep. Maybe the other boy was starting to resent that. It wasn't something Owen could help, and would change if he was capable of doing so, but he still felt bad about it.

Or what if it wasn't aimed at him, but they thought it was him talking about them? The second year wouldn't like that either. He was going to have to make sure to tell Jemima how much she meant to him as a friend, he didn't for one second want her to worry that he didn't consider one. As for Andrew, Owen wasn't as sure how to go about it other than thanking him for putting up with Owen's issues. It was just that guys didn't seem to talk about feelings and stuff with each other.

It wasn't just that either. Uncle Mortimer had said that anyone who vandalized school properly would be severely punished . The Teppenpaw didn't want that! Especially for the person who scrawled the second part underneath that was a lot nicer. Owen really didn't think his uncle would distinguish between the two. He'd just punish them both the same and the second year's mind was running wild with scenarios for what "severely punished" entailed. He knew it wasn't really likely to be something he experienced though.

The messages needed to be gone but Owen was too young to know how to get rid of them. Should he tell Mr. Xavier or a prefect to erase them before Uncle Mortimer found out? Would they have to alert his uncle that it was there if he did? If they noticed on their own, it would be the same thing but at least then he wouldn't be responsible at all for someone getting in trouble. But then again, if he told someone, they'd be able to deal with it before anyone else felt bad.

Owen walked over and sat down in a chair nearby, weighing his options. He'd been sitting there quite awhile when he felt someone sit down next to him and looked up at them, surprised.

11 Owen Brockert Conflicted 300 Owen Brockert 0 5